2016 Toronto Argonauts season
General managerJim Barker
Head coachScott Milanovich
Home fieldBMO Field
Results
Record5–13
Division place4th, East
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Team MOPBrandon Whitaker
Team MOCLirim Hajrullahu
Team MORSean McEwen
Uniform

The 2016 Toronto Argonauts season was the 59th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 144th season overall. The Argonauts finished in fourth place in the East Division with a 5–13 record and missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. It also marks the second straight year the Grey Cup hosts have failed to make the playoffs after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last season.

After the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Ottawa Redblacks in overtime in week 18 on October 21, 2016, the Argonauts were eliminated from the playoffs while they were playing in the second quarter against the Calgary Stampeders. This was the team's fifth season under head coach Scott Milanovich, and the sixth under general manager Jim Barker. It was announced in January 2017 that Jim Barker would be relieved of his duties as general manager after a disappointing 2016 CFL season which saw the Argonauts win a league low 5 games that season, tied with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for league worst that season. Shortly after Jim Barker's termination, Scott Milanovich resigned from his duties as the Argonauts' head coach to work as an assistant coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This was the first season for the Argonauts at their new home stadium, BMO Field, as renovations now allow Canadian football to be played there.[1] The team had averaged 16,380 in fan attendance and had a season high 24,812 fans attend the home opener. The club also had a new ownership group, with Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Canada officially taking ownership on January 1, 2016.[2]

Offseason

CFL draft

The 2016 CFL Draft took place on May 10, 2016. The Argonauts had nine selections in the eight-round draft after trading Bruce Campbell for another fourth-round pick.[3]

Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
14Brian JonesWRAcadia
213DJ SackeyOLToronto
322Jamal CampbellOLYork
427Declan CrossRBMcMaster
431Llevi NoelWRWindsor AKO Fratmen
540Curtis NewtonLBGuelph
649Chris KolankowskiOLYork
758Johnathan Ngeleka MuambaDBMcMaster
866Ryan NieuwesteegRBGuelph

Preseason

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary
Score Record
A Sat, June 11 4:00 p.m. EDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 25–16 1–0 None BMO Field 16,168 Recap
B Fri, June 17 7:30 p.m. EDT at Montreal Alouettes L 22–15 1–1 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 14,882 Recap

[4]

 #  Games played with colour uniforms.

Regular season

Standings

East Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Ottawa Redblacks18891174864985–3L1Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats187110145075025–3L2Details
Montreal Alouettes187110143834163–5W3Details
Toronto Argonauts185130103835683–5L7Details

Schedule

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary
Score Record
1 Thurs, June 23 7:30 p.m. EDT Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 20–42 0–1 TSN/RDS/ESPNEWS BMO Field 24,812 Recap
2 Thurs, June 30 10:00 p.m. EDT @ Saskatchewan Roughriders W 30–17 1–1 TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 Mosaic Stadium 29,896 Recap
3 Thurs, July 7 10:00 p.m. EDT @ BC Lions W 25–14 2–1 TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 BC Place 18,921 Recap
4 Wed, July 13 7:30 p.m. EDT Ottawa Redblacks L 20–30 2–2 TSN/RDS BMO Field 12,373 Recap
5 Mon, July 25 7:30 p.m. EDT Montreal Alouettes W 30–17 3–2 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 BMO Field 16,048 Recap
6 Sun, July 31 7:30 p.m. EDT @ Ottawa Redblacks W 23–20 4–2 TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 TD Place Stadium 24,894 Recap
7 Bye
8 Fri, Aug 12 7:30 p.m. EDT Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 17–34 4–3 TSN BMO Field 15,063 Recap
9 Sat, Aug 20 4:00 p.m. EDT Edmonton Eskimos L 23–46 4–4 TSN BMO Field 15,157 Recap
10 Bye
11 Wed, Aug 31 7:30 p.m. EDT BC Lions L 13–16 4–5 TSN BMO Field 17,509 Recap
11 Mon, Sept 5 6:30 p.m. EDT @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 36–49 4–6 TSN Tim Hortons Field 24,512 Recap
12 Sun, Sept 11 4:30 p.m. EDT Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 33–21 5–6 TSN BMO Field 17,214 Recap
13 Sat, Sept 17 2:00 p.m. EDT @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 29–46 5–7 TSN Investors Group Field 25,943 Recap
14 Fri, Sept 23 7:00 p.m. EDT @ Ottawa Redblacks L 12–29 5–8 TSN/RDS2 TD Place Stadium 25,088 Recap
15 Sun, Oct 2 1:00 p.m. EDT @ Montreal Alouettes L 11–38 5–9 TSN2/RDS Molson Stadium 23,420 Recap
16 Mon, Oct 10 4:00 p.m. EDT Calgary Stampeders L 20–48 5–10 TSN BMO Field 14,224 Recap
17 Sat, Oct 15 4:00 p.m. EDT Saskatchewan Roughriders L 11–29 5–11 TSN BMO Field 15,023 Recap
18 Fri, Oct 21 10:00 p.m. EDT @ Calgary Stampeders L 13–31 5–12 TSN McMahon Stadium 27,520 Recap
19 Bye
20 Sat, Nov 5 4:00 p.m. EDT @ Edmonton Eskimos L 17–41 5–13 TSN Commonwealth Stadium 33,514 Recap

[4][5][6]

 #  Games played with colour uniforms.
 #  Games played with white uniforms.

Team

The team was led at quarterback by Ricky Ray, who had three statistically brilliant seasons between 2012 and 2014, earning eastern Most Outstanding Player nominations in the latter two years. Ray battled injuries in each of his five seasons as an Argonaut and has not played an entire 18 game season since his last season in Edmonton. Following the departure of Trevor Harris to the Ottawa RedBlacks in early 2016, the backup QB situation was a bit of a revolving door; with Logan Kilgore, Dan LeFevour, Cody Fajardo, and Drew Willy all taking snaps under centre.[7]

The receiving corps remained largely unchanged from the previous season with Tori Gurley, Kevin Elliott, and Vidal Hazelton (The Big Three) returning after posting productive seasons in 2015, also returning to the receiving group were Diontae Spencer and Kenny Shaw. On October 3, 2016, the team announced they had released Gurley, Elliott, and Hazelton, along with Phil Bates.[8] The move was considered a shock by most, but post-game comments by Scott Milanovich in Montreal on October 2, 2016 following a loss to the Als revealed the move which was about to take place was about more than just on-field issues. "We've got some good football players here that I'm not sure are real committed to what we need to have take place, and it's little things; being late, not showing up prepared, screwing around and that's where we're at right now, it's not going to stay that way."

Running back Brandon Whitaker was leaned on heavily and was having a productive season. He finished second in the league in rushing yards with 1009 on 186 carries, which was his second career 1000-yard rushing season, earning him a third consecutive Eastern All-Star award.[9]

On the defensive side of the ball, following last season's departure of star defensive linemen Cleyon Laing and Tristan Okpalaugo to the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals respectively, the Argos were able to secure the services of Justin Hickman and Bryan Hall from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as well as trade OL Matt Sewell and QB Mitchell Gale to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for DE Shawn Lemon and a conditional 2018 draft pick.[10] Lemon seemed to fit into Defensive Coordinator Rich Stubler's system well, as he finished with 14 sacks (career high) in 16 games and earned his first East Division All-Star nomination.

Roster

2016 Toronto Argonauts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 1-Game Injured List

6-Game Injured List

Practice squad

Suspended

Italics indicate international player
Roster updated 2016-11-05
Depth chart
Transactions (argonauts.ca) Archived 2016-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
Transactions (cfl.ca)
46 Active, 3 Injured, 9 Six-Game Injured,
14 Practice

→ More rosters

Coaching staff

2016 Toronto Argonauts staff
Front office and support staff
  • Owner – Larry Tanenbaum / Bell Media
  • President and ceo – Michael Copeland
  • Special advisor – Michael Clemons
  • General manager – Jim Barker
  • Director of football operations – Ian Sanderson
  • Director of player personnel – Chris Rukavina
  • US Scouting Coordinator - Spencer Zimmerman
  • Director canadian scouting – Vince Magri
  • Consultant, Football Operations – Nick Volpe
  • Equipment manager – Danny Webb
  • Assistant equipment manager – Tom Bryce
  • Head athletic therapist – Scott Shannon
  • Assistant athletic therapist – Josh Shewell
  

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Kelly Jeffrey
  • Assistant special teams – Bradley Daye

→ Coaching Staff
→ More CFL staffs

References

  1. ↑ Argos hope move to fan-friendly BMO Field will boost flagging attendance
  2. ↑ "Bell Canada and Kilmer Group to acquire the Argos". Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  3. ↑ CFL.ca Staff (10 February 2016). "Riders sign Lawrence; trade for Argos' OL Campbell - CFL.ca". CFL.ca.
  4. 1 2 "2016 Schedule". Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  5. ↑ "Where to watch: 2016 Broadcast information". Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Sunday's CFL Contest Between the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa REDBLACKS Now on ESPN2". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  7. ↑ "Blue Bombers ship Willy to Argos; acquire Glenn in trade with Als". CFL.ca. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  8. ↑ "Argos release receiving trio of Elliott, Hazelton and Gurley". CFL.ca. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  9. ↑ "Stars Aligned: CFL Divisional All-Stars announced". CFL.ca. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  10. ↑ "Riders trade Lemon to Argos for Sewell, Gale". 2016-07-02. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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